Blogs from Florida, United States, North America - page 529

Friday 27th May 2005 : Bye Bye Bogota - Hello Florida To the ATM for cash. To the café for caffeine. I thought that by now I could order coffee but no. I ask for a ‘tinto’ (black) and pay , then present my receipt at the coffee counter. The young lady asks me how much water do I want but not in a way that I understand. A fellow customer explains. I say I’d like more water and learn that this is a ‘clarito’ (but is this only in Bogota ?). The kids are still filling the hostel and a bunch of adults arrive to check in. This is as busy as we’ve seen it. We check out and immediately flag down a taxi on the street. Check in and have to pay 30USD departure ... read more

Henry Flagler lived the kind of fascinating and far-ranging life one expects from a 19th century American tycoonapreneurist. Among his achievements was enabling access to the Florida Keys by railroad in 1912 as a final triumph in his campaign to fully develop Florida. Although his amazing railroad was thoroughly trashed in the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, the remaining infrastructure was utilised to create the Overseas Highway that today funnels people down a pocky two-lane road to the the "paradise" that inspired Margaritaville. Cruising down this morning past countless seafood restaurants, boat dealerships and flipflopperies, I noted how the actual development of the Keys seemed to end in 1980. It's all gravel roads, pickup trucks and brutish building design. The Keys vibe is laissez-faire, sunburned and fashionless. You go... read more

NEW ORLEANS HERE WE COME! Goodbye Joe, me gotta go, me oh my oh! Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou. My yvonne, the sweetest one, me oh my oh! Son of a gun, we'll have good fun on the bayon. Jambalaya, a-crawfish pie-a file gumbo! 'Cause tonight I'm gonna see my machezamio. Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-oh! Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the BAYOU! - Hank Williams / Jambalaya Lyrics Here it is 5:45am Friday morning and I am looking out my balcony at the gentle Destin waves rolling in. The sun is slowly starting to rise and the emerald green starting to glow -- you can still see the moon to the far right -- and hear the birds welcoming the day. Destin truly is ... read more

Hello from Destin's Barnes & Nobles coffe shop! I haven't written in a while so I will try and recap the last two days. We left off Saturday morning. April and I ended up heading to Destin Commons, once again we WERE going to rent a Pontoon boat, but the water was still a brownish color, so we decided to wait. We headed out around noon and went to lunch at The Hard Rock Cafe. This one is really nice. Not too big and lots of retro 80's music. The staff is also eclectic and down to earth. I ordered my usual...grilled chicken dinner and Ape got fajitas. It was such a gorgeous day out that after lunch we walked and walked (and walked) around the village area and then the strangest thing happened, I had ... read more

Good Morning, This morning I woke up to the most beautiful sunrise! To be honest, I couldn't even see the sun, but the glow of the sun reflected on the clouds above the ocean and it caused this pink hue that bounced off the emerald water. The pictures I will list will never do it justice. It was so, so beautiful. I was up early. Around 5:30am. Around 6am....there was a dawn wedding on the ocean. A small, intimate gathering. Very beautiful and romantic! There is something just magical about waking up in this place. I could never grow tired of the beautiful colors that come to be once the sun rises. Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day in Destin. There was a VERY strong breeze which cooled temps off quite a bit. On a scale ... read more